Channeling Audrey

Going to Kyoto feels a lot like going back to the town where I grew up.  I went there so frequently when I lived in Japan the first time that everything became very familiar.   Now I can easily roam to my usual places as if I am on autopilot.  Even though it is the cultural center of Japan, it has a much slower pace than Osaka.  Although it is often very crowded, it has a much more relaxed atmosphere.

B and I have been to Kyoto several times over the past few weeks.  Since I work halfway between Osaka and Kyoto it has been the obvious choice for dinner options on a Friday (that, and the fact that it is much easier to get a table without a reservation!).  Last Sunday we spent the entire day meandering through some of it's most well known areas so that I could work on being a shutterbug!

Kyoto Station always amazes me a little!  Did you know it was designed by the same architect that designed the glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris?!?


We had lunch at a little restaurant on Nene No Michi [the Path of Nene], across from Kodai-ji temple. It was super Japanese-y.  Kyoto was surprisingly not crowded.  Normally, these kinds of restaurants in this area always have long waits. (Cultural side bar: Nene, who the street was named for, was the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, arguable the second most famous Shogun in Japanese history.)






We both had cold noodles, a quintessential summer meal in Japan.  Mine is on top, his is underneath. 


While on our way to dinner, we passed this restaurant called ん (pronounced 'n'.  Phonetically, not the name of the letter.)


From dinner the light was too low for me to continue taking pictures in manual...that's my next hurdle - low light. Regardless, Kyoto is a beautiful city, probably my favorite city in Japan.  Go see it!!!